Storage floor in Shanghai supermarket collapses, killing three

The collapse of a storage floor in a Shanghai supermarket has killed three people and injured six, according to local authorities.

The incident occurred around 7am on Saturday at a supermarket under the Jiadele chain in Zhuqiao town, where the Pudong International Airport is located.

According to mainland media, an attic floor on top of the supermarket that was being used for storage had collapsed, burying shoppers and employees.

Photo: Screenshot/Xinmin.

The Paper cited local residents as saying that the supermarket built an additional attic floor to store goods, and that the store had increased stocks as it was holding promotions for “Double 11” – an annual shopping festival launched by Alibaba in 2009.

Local paper Xinmin Evening News also cited neighbouring store owners as saying that they suspected that the supermarket had built additional storage space, and that goods were usually heaped high in the store, which may have created hazards.

One eyewitness told the paper that the market sold fresh food, so many elderly people living nearby would go to the supermarket in the morning. A nearby resident also said that they heard a loud noise, then saw many elderly people running out of the store.

Photo: Screenshots/WeMedia.

The government of Zhuqiao town, which is under the jurisdiction of the Pudong New Area of Shanghai, said on its WeChat account on Sunday that rescue operations concluded on Saturday evening, after nine people were removed from the building.

A person in charge of the supermarket surnamed Chen was taken under police control and the cause of the incident is under investigation, it said.

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